At Moms for Liberty, we like to remind everyone of a simple truth:
We do NOT co-parent with the government.
And this week we had a lot to celebrate.
From childhood vaccine policy, to accountability at the Southern Poverty Law Center, to major proposed reforms of Head Start, the federal government took significant actions that could shift power away from bureaucracy and back toward states, local communities and parents.
President Trump, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Attorney General Todd Blanche are shaping an administration that is making parental authority a central part of federal policy.
More Choice for Parents on Childhood Vaccines
President Trump’s administration has moved to overhaul the federal approach to childhood vaccine recommendations, with the stated goals of aligning the U.S. schedule with other developed nations, preserving access to vaccines, protecting religious liberty while giving parents and physicians greater flexibility.
The administration’s policy directs federal health officials to consider greater flexibility in the timing and sequencing of routine childhood immunizations and explicitly states that federal agencies must fulfill legal obligations involving parental authority and religious freedom.
For parents this matters.
America’s childhood vaccine schedule has expanded dramatically over the past several decades, and the administration’s review concluded that the United States recommends more childhood vaccines than any peer nation.
For us at Moms for Liberty this isn’t simply a health-care debate. When vaccine requirements are tied to whether your child can attend school, they become an education and parental rights issue.
Importantly, federal action does not automatically eliminate state vaccination requirements for school attendance. Those requirements are largely governed by state law. But the administration has made clear that parental authority, religious liberty, and existing legal protections should be respected as federal vaccine policy is reconsidered. That is an important shift in philosophy because parents should be part of the decision-making process, not treated as an obstacle to it.
Serious Allegations Against the SPLC
On August 12, former Southern Poverty Law Center CFO Heidi Beirich was indicted as part of the Justice Department’s expanding criminal case involving the organization.
Beirich previously led the SPLC’s Intelligence Project, which tracked organizations the SPLC classified as hate and extremist groups. Federal prosecutors have charged her with conspiracy involving wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and concealment money laundering. And the allegations are stunning.
Prosecutors allege that SPLC donor funds were secretly used to pay extremist organizations and that financial arrangements were concealed from donors and banks. The indictment also alleges that Beirich had a romantic relationship with one informant and shared a home and bank accounts with him; prosecutors allege roughly $140,000 flowed into a joint account during that relationship.
For Moms for Liberty, this story hits close to home. The SPLC has used its enormous platform and resources to label organizations, including ours in ways that have caused tremendous damage. The SPLC’s labeling system has become politicized and is used against Americans engaged in legitimate public-policy debates. Organizations that appoint themselves arbiters of who is hateful, dangerous, or extremist should be held to an extraordinarily high standard of transparency and integrity.
Putting Parents Back in the Driver’s Seat at Head Start
There was more encouraging news for parents this week.
The Trump administration has proposed a major overhaul of Head Start, the federal preschool program serving vulnerable children and families.
This issue is personal to me.
I previously served on the governing board of a Head Start program in my home county of Brevard County, Florida. I have seen what an award-winning Head Start program can look like and the tremendous impact it can have on children and families.
But Head Start has also become burdened by layers of federal regulation.
HHS’s proposed “Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs” rule seeks to change that by reducing federal requirements, giving states and local programs more flexibility, and redirecting resources toward serving children.
The administration estimates the reforms could save approximately $2.2 billion and preserve or expand as many as 236,000 Head Start slots. Every dollar unnecessarily spent on bureaucratic paperwork is a dollar that isn’t being spent helping a child.
The proposal would make several major changes, including reducing administrative overhead, shifting greater authority over some program requirements to states, strengthening nutrition standards, establishing physical-activity requirements, and maintaining a significant role for parents and families.
As a mom, there is a lot here that I like. The program helps set parents up for success by keeping them engaged in their child’s education from the start. The rule will cut unnecessary red tape, give states and local communities more flexibility, serve real, nutrient-dense food instead of processed junk and get little kids up and moving every day.
Most importantly the rule reinforces that parents are children’s first and most important teachers.
Healthy bodies help build healthy minds, and strong families build strong children.
Head Start was created to help vulnerable children and strengthen families. Reform should bring the program closer to that mission.
The proposed rule is now going through the public-comment process, giving parents and citizens an opportunity to make their voices heard. I encourage all parents to submit a comment here.
The Common Thread: Trust Parents
Three very different stories unfolded this week, but I see one question being answered in all of them, Who should have the greatest authority over America’s children?
For too long, government institutions and powerful organizations have behaved as though experts, bureaucrats, and political institutions know better than parents.
We disagree.
Parents have the God-given fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children. This incudes medical care and education.
Parents should be able to participate in public-policy debates about their children without being demonized or silenced by powerful organizations.
That is what our mission of defending parental rights at all levels of government is ultimately about. Government has an important role. Doctors have an important role. Teachers have an important role. Community organizations have an important role.
But none of them replaces Mom and Dad. We do NOT co-parent with the government.
And this week, we are winning the fight at the federal level. There is still so much work to do at all levels of government, so join or start a chapter today!
